


Adored

by SivValkyrie



Series: And They All Lived Happily Ever After [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Children of Characters, Cute Kids, F/F, Growing Old Together, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Mentions of other ships, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29046741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SivValkyrie/pseuds/SivValkyrie
Summary: Adora tried to be a soldier. She was thought of as a tool to manipulate others, and then a rebellion leader and hero. She thought She-Ra was her truth, but even then, She-Ra was a weapon. When Adora finally realizes she’s just Adora, she reminds herself of the first expression of personhood and identity she ever had- loving Catra.Then, she vows to live her life as just Adora, and what a wonderful life it was. In the end, choosing herself, and choosing Catra, was the best decision she ever made.UPDATE: There is a second chapter, despite the finality of the first. I just really enjoyed it and wanted to do more.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: And They All Lived Happily Ever After [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2132937
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Something short and a little less structured. More just emotional, less edited, and just more raw. I didn't want to try too hard and just write something that made me feel. I hope you enjoy this too.

“I think I’m going to retire She-Ra for a while.”

Catra turned her gaze away from the stars, looking over at a now wide awake Adora. They’d been napping on and off all afternoon and into the night, still on that same hill they ended the war on. “Yeah? That’s good. She beat me up a lot,” she said with a snide grin.

Adora tried to laugh. It _was_ funny, she just wasn’t feeling it. “I think I’ll only bring her back in an emergency I can’t handle as me.” She went silent after that. To be honest, she didn’t know why- it just felt like the right move. She didn’t feel like She-Ra anymore.

“It’s okay. I’ll do my best to help out too if things go wrong again.”

Wind whistled past them, blowing dandelion seeds out into the moonlight, letting them dance across the sky. Grass rustled between them, and the air felt a little colder than it did in the sunlight. They felt their hands touch as they unconsciously scooted together for warmth.

“Can we cuddle again? Like we used to before all this happened?” Catra asked, rolling to lay on her side facing Adora.

Adora chuckled. “I missed that.” She sat up too, pressing her body against her friend’s, wrapping her arms around her in a warm embrace. Her head settled into the crook of Catra’s neck, close to her mane. “I still remember the last night I was in the Horde- you got hit so hard in the stomach you wanted to lay at the foot of the bed instead. I kinda wish I got to hold you, ‘cause I almost thought that was the last time.”

“Me too. I don’t ever want to be apart again.”

Catra laid still, purring until she heard Adora sniffling on her shoulder. “Hey, are you crying?” She pulled back slightly, lifting Adora’s head to get a good look at her.

Adora didn’t say anything. She just kissed her. Catra kissed back, and for the first time, she understood that this friendship- _love_? Was all Adora had for herself. Adora loved her, deeper than she first thought, because this was the only thing Adora rebelled for. She wasn’t really rebelling as She-Ra if it was predestination.

That’s when she realized Catra was the first, and only, real choice Adora had ever made.

And then Catra knew what it meant to be loved.

* * *

“Come on, Granny.”

Catra stood at the top of the hill, the place where they’d had their second of many kisses. It was holy ground, where they consummated their love, where they took the kids on their first picnic. It was the home of firsts and milestones.

It was only fitting that they come here one more time.

“I’m trying. My hips aren’t as good as they used to be,” Adora called from halfway up. She continued, slowly, before Catra grabbed her hand and helped her steady herself at the summit.

“Hey, they move great when it counts,” Catra chuckled. “Eh, don’t complain. At least you’re not going deaf.”

Adora playfully nudged her when they sat down on the grass. “What? I can’t hear you! Wait, let me turn my hearing aid on!”

Catra laughed, a real hearty laugh, before she stopped to cough. “Egch.” She caught her breath, mumbling, “Jeez, when did we get so old?”

“You didn’t. You grew up, but I still see the Catra I fell in love with.”

“Oh hush.”

They laid down together, watching the clouds roll by as the sky cycled through shades of gold and orange and pink, before settling into a midnight blue with the moon above, just like they always used to do. Adora was asleep next to Catra, their frail, wrinkled fingers entwined.

Catra had been sensing it was time for a while. Before now, she would’ve started another world war just to find a way to make this whole thing go away. Now, though, Catra loved the life she lived. Her grandkittens were beautiful and almost twelve now. She and her wife Adora had traveled the galaxy, sightseeing and dancing their way through life.

Maybe ten years ago, they just decided to go back to their castle and rest. They couldn’t just do nothing forever, though.

“Adora?”

Adora barely hummed in response. She wasn’t moving.

Catra smiled. “You’re beautiful, and I love you so much.”

Adora’s hand relaxed, and her eyelids fluttered. “Mm.” Her breathing slowed, and a smile spread across her lips too.

“Are you going to sleep now?” Catra took the silence as a yes. She held her wife’s hand up to her lips, kissing her knuckles. She held it there, gently squeezing as they kept their fingers locked together. “We had a good time, baby. I love you.”

And there was no pain, nor was there any last bargain for a little more time. There was just Adora, not She-Ra, not Shadow Weaver’s favorite- Just Adora, peacefully going to the other side. She let out one last breath, before surrendering to the circle of life. Soon she’d be worm food, and where she laid would be a big tree. That didn’t sound so bad.

Catra laid her hand back down on the grass, and laid there for a few more minutes, just watching the clouds. Sure, she would miss Adora for the rest of the time she had left. But she was happy they got the life they did.


	2. Adored, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to build on this, especially since everyone seems to love it. I appreciate the nice comments so much! It feels nice to know I managed to make someone else feel what I felt. I hope this one is good too.

Perched on a tree branch, her eyes following a bird, sat Catra. She was listening to Adora sing below her on a picnic blanket. Her voice was soft and simple, carrying a sailor’s tune.

_“Once was a tale of a steely captain, eyes of mahogany wood_

_He sailed into the Straits of Serpentine, just as a sailor would_

_Upon arrival, he found not a serpent, but a lass_

_He was taken by her beauty, though she had scales instead of-“_

“Ass!” Catra shouted from above, laughing to herself.

Adora looked up, glowering at her wife. “Honey! Not in front of the kids! The right word was legs.”

“What? Blame Seahawk, he wrote it.” Catra leapt down onto all fours, before sitting down next to the blonde woman and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Remember kids, only grown ups can say bad words.”

Four year old Ariel looked up from her sandwich, babbling with her mouth full. “Okay mama! Is Harper allowed to say it? Harper’s a grown up.”

Catra licked her thumb, and used it to wipe some jelly off of Ariel’s cheek. “I guess this one’s in your hands now, Sparkles.” She gave Glimmer a mischievous look.

Glimmer chuckled nervously. Oh boy, Harper really took after her. “No, honey. Harper’s only thirteen. Good kids are polite and kind to people, and don’t say bad words. They can hurt people’s feelings.”

Harper looked up from her book for a few seconds to add, “Yeah, how would you feel if I called you a doodoo hea-“

“That’s not a bad word,” Ryker cut in, crossing his arms. “I know all the bad words. _Horde, stinky,_ and _homework._ ”

Mermista chuckled dryly. “You tell ‘em, kid. Now come on baby, eat your sandwich.”

Adora smiled, caught up in the moment of it all. Here she was, with her chosen family and best friends. All of them had grown up, some of them started families of their own or found new passions and jobs in a Horde-free world.

Bow and Glimmer got married and decided to start a family two years after the war. It started with Harper- and they love her so much they wanted more. There’s a fifth on the way, and Glimmer is eating absolutely everything in her path. She and Bow brought Brightmoon into a golden age of art and commerce, where everyone is prosperous and happy. George, Lance, and Micah started the first school in all of Etheria, and Bow and Glimmer pop in occasionally to teach other kids about leadership and responsibility.

Entrapta and Hordak spent a few years travelling through the galaxy, exploring their new sandbox. They returned with ideas for a “cell phone,” but it seemed too complicated for anyone else to understand. Hordak showed up for group outings and Mommy and Me classes, trying to prove he’s trying his best. They have one baby hybrid, with glassy purple eyes and an unquenchable thirst for apple juice. Pallas was a test tube baby made with combined DNA- an experiment that they love and cherish. They’ll be able to help couples who can’t concieve- like Kyle and Rogelio. They were late to this picnic, but what else is new? Neither of them ever know what time it is, even if Entrapta has a new interest in clocks.

Mermista and Seahawk were on the fence until they ended up pregnant with Ryker. He was about the same age as Ariel, and they go through a lot of milestones together. Neither of them accepted the “settle down” mentality. They take their son surfing and on trips, and Adora and Catra babysit when the two need a night off in Seaworthy.

Scorpia couldn’t stop talking about her upcoming princess prom in her newly reclaimed Arachnia kingdom, and Frosta was so excited to go to one where she was a guest and not a regal eleven year old queen. Perfuma was a master of therapy and emotional healing, helping former Horde soldiers and victims of the war recover. Netossa and Spinnerella enjoyed their honeymoon, finally, after twenty years of marriage- and hell, even Double Trouble got their happily ever after as an actor.

When they won the war, Adora felt like that was it. Curtain call. But the story kept going for seventeen years- more characters came, some left. Animals evolved, the Whispering Woods kept rearranging its pathways to lead further and further into mystery and magic, and everyone got a little older.

And now they all had a generation of beautiful babies to take care of the planet that they love so much.

“Adora? You good?” Bow asked, bouncing baby Amethyst in his lap.

Adora realized her cheeks were slick with tears. She wiped them away with her shirt sleeve, smiling at him. “Yeah. Perfect.”

That got Catra’s attention. She kissed Adora softly, chaste but lovingly, ignoring all the little ones’ mocking cries of “ _ewww!_ ”

“I love you, Adora.”

It’s the little things that make life worth living. It’s watering the garden early in the morning, or going for a fly on Swift Wind’s back. It’s a summer breeze, it’s your children’s birthdays and their favorite foods. It’s coming home to Catra suspiciously hiding burned food, but somehow having a perfect cake ready after a long day.

The best part about life though, is just being.

“I love you too, Catra.”


End file.
